Su Mu had mastered two ranked fist techniques. His Tiger Subduing Fist was close to perfection, while his Rock Shattering Fist was nearing mastery. On top of that, he had the 12-point comprehension of an Excellent Talent, Raw Jade, and nearly perfect control over his body.
Su Mu could switch freely between the two techniques in battle, or even unleash them simultaneously. That punch just now had begun with the Tiger Roar of the Tiger Subduing Fist, stealing the initiative and seizing his opponent's attention, before a seemingly effortless blow from the Rock Shattering Fist smashed Zhang San's head to pieces.
"Bastard!"
Seeing Zhang San's head blown apart by a single punch, his body dropping dead on the spot, someone shouted furiously.
Swish, swish, swish!
In an instant, three gleaming long sabers, their blades glinting coldly, became three streaks of white light as they cut through the air from three different directions, slashing toward Su Mu.
The people allowed to stay in Wu Heng's residence were no ordinary street thugs. These four were Wu Heng's true confidants, whom he had spent considerable effort cultivating, and they were also elite members of the Black Tiger Gang.
The four worked together seamlessly and had been through countless fights. Against four of them at once, even a ranked Qi Refining Martial Artist could easily be surrounded and killed if he let his guard down.
"Revenge for Zhang San!"
One man's long saber arrived first, sweeping down swiftly on a gust of wind, its blade aimed straight at Su Mu's vulnerable throat.
Whoosh!
But the blade struck empty air. Beneath the long saber, Su Mu's afterimage dispersed like a bubble. He had watched the other two men's swings, and his extraordinary senses, combined with the fearsome comprehension of an Excellent Talent, Raw Jade, came into astonishing effect.
He understood in an instant. The trajectories of the other two men's sabers appeared in his mind, and Su Mu suddenly stepped forward.
Startled Sparrow Steps.
Two consecutive leaps.
Wind rose beneath his feet as Su Mu's figure flickered twice in quick succession. The two men behind him unleashed slashes from tricky angles, but both missed. The man who had been shouting about revenge right to his face turned ashen.
A startled sparrow, roused from its bow, suddenly swelled to fill his pupils. Against these unranked Martial Artists, Su Mu simply covered his shoulder and arm with Hidden Force. Riding the forward momentum of Startled Sparrow Steps, he crashed into the man's arms like a charging bear.
Five Animal Frolics, Furious Bear Shakes the Tree!
Aah!
The force-covered point of his shoulder and elbow slammed into the man's chin and chest. A shrill scream rang out, followed by a series of crisp cracks. The Black Tiger Gang member's breastbone and jawbone shattered, then a surge of Hidden Force pierced into his body and exploded in his chest. His still-beating heart burst apart with a boom.
Pfft.
The man managed only one scream before spewing three mouthfuls of blood and collapsing limply to the ground.
The powerful physique forged by perfected Five Animal Frolics, combined with the effects of taking Three-Complete Body Strengthening Soup for a long time and the Hidden Force of the Limit Break State, was overwhelming.
"Damn it!"
The other two Black Tiger Gang members were both enraged and shocked by Su Mu's completely unreasonable fighting style. But they were veterans, and tried to seize the opening after his attack, launching several slashes in quick succession.
Blades flashed and crossed.
Yet these rapid slashes, fast enough to leave afterimages, all cut through empty air. Against Startled Sparrow Steps, their attacks were completely useless. Su Mu weaved beneath their blades, leaving both men drenched in cold sweat and trembling with fear.
Just then, Wu Heng, who had yet to join the fight and had been watching Su Mu intently, could no longer sit still.
"Get out of my way!"
His force surged as he roared, his voice like a clap of thunder. With two Black Tiger Gang members already down, Wu Heng felt confident he had gauged the strength of the man who had broken into his residence to kill tonight.
The man, like him, was a Ninth Rank Martial Artist who had mastered Hidden Force. Since they were both at the Hidden Force level, Wu Heng had strong confidence in himself. If he hadn't been held back by a lack of bone-tempering ointment, perhaps he, Wu Heng, would have been the first person in Qingshui Town to advance to Eighth Rank Bone Forging, rather than Zhao Xuan.
Wu Heng believed his natural aptitude was better than Zhao Xuan's.
The difference was clear from their shared practice of Gale Fist. Wu Heng had reached mastery in the technique even before Zhao Xuan, and he could also tell that the Hidden Force within the man before him was slightly weaker than his own.
"Take my fist, you bastard!"
Wu Heng strode into the fight and raised his sandbag-sized fist, punching straight at Su Mu's face.
Before the fist arrived, a gust of wind brushed Su Mu's face, whipping his black hair wildly. His cheek stung faintly, as if scraped by something sharp.
"Hm?"
Su Mu let out a quiet sound of surprise. Wu Heng's punches looked slow, but the wind they stirred up was solid, with blades of air as sharp as knives. This was a fist technique unlike any he had ever encountered.
Facing Wu Heng's unfamiliar technique, Su Mu poured Hidden Force into both arms and met him with Ape Play, a Five Animal Frolics technique that combined offense and defense. He spread his arms wide and held them before his chest, like a wall of iron.
Boom!
Fist collided violently with arms. The two surges of Hidden Force clashed, sending a string of muffled explosions through the air.
"Die!"
Wu Heng's confidence soared after that punch. He could feel that he had gained the upper hand in their clash of Hidden Force. The other man's Hidden Force was weaker than his own; he merely possessed some freakish strength.
But that freakish strength was not enough to turn the tide. The outcome was decided.
At once, Wu Heng's fists fell like a violent storm. He had only ever trained in Gale Fist, immersing himself in the technique for twenty-three years. Every punch carried the weight of those twenty-three years of practice.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.
As Gale Fist burst forth, the courtyard roared with wind. Several pine trees swayed in the yard, their branches and leaves rustling as if caught in a furious storm.
"That guy's dead for sure!"
"Exactly... Hall Master Wu's Gale Fist is still as mesmerizing as ever!"
The two Black Tiger Gang members couldn't help exclaiming in admiration. On the battlefield, Wu Heng's arms swung, and the wind followed him, making him look truly mighty.
The two had backed off to either side as soon as Wu Heng attacked, but they remained on guard, watching Su Mu like a pair of vicious hounds.
The moment Su Mu showed the slightest opening in his clash with Wu Heng, they would charge without hesitation and help Wu Heng hack him to death.
"This guy is stronger than every Ninth Rank Martial Artist I've faced before, and his mastery of this fist technique is profound. At another time and place, he'd be worth a hard-fought battle."
"But this isn't a sparring match..."
Su Mu's eyes narrowed. He hadn't come here tonight to spar or hone his skills. He had come to kill.
The commotion in the residence had likely already spread. Perhaps no one dared set foot inside because of the Black Tiger Gang, but he couldn't afford to let this drag on.
The two fought at breakneck speed, exchanging more than ten blows in just a few breaths.
Su Mu knew perfectly well that his strength was inferior to Wu Heng's, and that the fist technique the man used also countered him to some degree. The gusting wind weakened the power of Su Mu's body.
"Looks like... I can't hold back anymore. I'll go all out!"
Suddenly, Wu Heng's heart lurched. He felt the aura of Su Mu, who had been struggling to keep up, change in an instant. The agile white ape became a bloodthirsty tiger descending the mountain, baring its fangs.
A fierce aura emanated from Su Mu. He took a deep breath and pushed his blood and force to the limit. His nearly perfect control over his body in the Limit Break State was shattered wide open.
At that moment, the apertures throughout Su Mu's body hummed in unison, and his physical limits were breached in an instant.
Beneath his face covering, Su Mu's face flushed red. He was going to stack the twin tigers on top of the Limit Break State.
Let the gale howl and the fist technique reach perfection—he would simply crush them with strength. One force could defeat ten techniques.
Tiger Subduing Fist, Vajra Tiger Subduing.
Roar!
An exceptionally loud tiger's roar exploded through the residence.
Boom!
The wind followed the tiger; the clouds followed the dragon.
The gusting wind dared not rage before the tiger's roar. It vanished in an instant. Then Wu Heng felt as if Mount Tai had come crashing down on him. The moment their fists met, an unstoppable, freakish force slammed into him. It was like a thousand-jin hammer, bending his right arm violently in an instant.
Crack.
The bone in his right arm broke with a snap, but the force had not yet dissipated. It shook Wu Heng so badly that he staggered, retreating several steps before he regained his footing.
"That freakish strength... Could you be a Bone Forging Martial Artist?"
Ninth Rank Martial Artists refined strength into force, while Eighth Rank Martial Artists tempered their bones and reached the marrow. Bone Forging Martial Artists drove force deep into their flesh and blood, further tempering every bone in the body. Their bones were like refined iron, their physiques far surpassed those of Qi Refining Martial Artists, and their strength increased severalfold.
Wu Heng's expression changed dramatically, and for the first time, fear showed on his face. Each rank of martial strength was separated by a mountain, not easily crossed. Except for a few martial arts prodigies, an Eighth Rank Martial Artist would completely crush a Ninth Rank Martial Artist.
His thoughts raced, and Wu Heng considered fleeing. He immediately sprang backward toward one of the Black Tiger Gang members.
But how could Su Mu let him have his way? Su Mu planted his feet and used Startled Sparrow Steps, closing the distance in an instant. His free left hand shot out like a tiger's claw.
Fierce Tiger Pounce!
The claw struck Wu Heng's remaining left wrist with brutal force. Another shrill scream rang out as the bones in his wrist were smashed to pieces.
One moment, Wu Heng had held the upper hand, completely suppressing Su Mu. The next, the battle had been turned upside down.
Wu Heng's right arm was broken and his left wrist was crippled. Less than one-tenth of his strength remained. The outcome was decided.
Only now did the Black Tiger Gang members present—including Wu Heng—realize, horrified, that Su Mu had merely been holding back when he'd seemed evenly matched.
No—that didn't even begin to describe the gap between them. It was more like holding back an ocean.
"Who are you, exactly? I, Wu, have never knowingly offended you. Why would you kill me without reason?" Wu Heng's face twisted sharply from the agony in both arms. Cold sweat the size of soybeans beaded on his forehead as he spoke in utter terror.
Ninth Rank Qi Refining Martial Artists were figures of standing in the Qingshui Town area, while Zhao Xuan was the only Bone Forging Martial Artist. This was the key reason the Black Tiger Gang could run rampant in the region.
In chaotic times, the fist was the only truth.
Beneath the waning moon, Su Mu approached, exuding a fierce aura. "Hall Master Wu, do you recognize this saber?"
Su Mu untied the long saber at his waist.
Shing.
The saber left its sheath. Wu Heng stared at it, his pupils abruptly shrinking to pinpricks. There was a clear notch in the blade.
Wu Heng recognized it at a glance. He had made that notch himself, and used it as an excuse to seize the Thirty Refinements Long Saber.
"This saber?!"
Before he could finish, a long saber plunged into Wu Heng's chest. The tip pierced through his body, entering white and coming out red. Su Mu leaned close to Wu Heng and spoke softly, his voice audible only to the two of them.
"Hall Master Wu, didn't you say the saber I forged was faulty, so dull it could barely chop firewood? I have to say, it seems pretty sharp to me."
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